Kansas Counties

Gray County, Kansas

Named for Alfred Gray (1830-1880), secretary of the Kansas Board of Agriculture.

History:

Gray was created by combining Foote County with the southern half of Buffalo County.

Cimarron and Ingalls were rival candidates for the county seat. The voting took place on 31 Oct 1885 and both towns claimed victory. Both were armed to the teeth, and the governor was forced to send a detachment of militia to keep the peace. The county offices were moved to Ingalls in 1887, but after several rounds of litigation Cimarron emerged the winner.